At this critical juncture, Qin Shilei's eyes instantly turned silver-white.
Concurrently, two cool, warm currents surged from his eyes, not only alleviating the intense pain in his head but also allowing Qin Shilei to regain control of his body.
Just as the mutated zombie's claws were about to tear open his throat, Qin Shilei narrowly dodged by shifting his body.
"Roar."
The mutated zombie, unable to comprehend how its opponent had evaded its claws at the last moment, let out another roar.
"Damn zombie, what's with all the noise."
Qin Shilei stomped his right foot down, lunging at the mutated zombie like an arrow loosed from a bow.
The mutated zombie raised its claws to block.
With a swish, its claws were severed at the wrists.
"Roar, roar!"
The mutated zombie's roars grew more urgent as it turned to flee down the corridor.
The zombies surrounding the physics lab, upon hearing the mutated zombie's first roar, had already turned and were rushing towards them. They were now less than ten meters away.
"Where do you think you're going!"
Shadow Step.
Qin Shilei's speed immediately increased by thirty percent, instantly catching up to the mutated zombie.
A flash of cold light, and the mutated zombie's head flew into the air, landing in the zombie horde ahead.
Qin Shilei fearlessly charged into the zombie horde, swiftly dispatching several zombies around him. kAnshu伍.ξà
He bent down, preparing to pick up the mutated zombie's head.
"I'll help you."
Suddenly, Zhong Renhe's voice came from behind.
Before Qin Shilei could even process how the other person had suddenly appeared, a surge of alarm coursed through him, followed by a blade wind striking at his neck.
Qin Shilei pushed off the ground with his foot, propelling his body forward at high speed.
However, he couldn't entirely avoid the attack.
The sharp Tang sword left a deep, bone-visible gash, over ten centimeters long, on Qin Shilei's back.
Seeing Qin Shilei charge into the zombie horde, Zhong Renhe didn't press his advantage.
He used his spatial ring to collect the treasure chest that had dropped on the ground and turned to flee towards the stairs.
As he passed the room where the mutated zombie had appeared, he glanced back and saw Qin Shilei already trapped within the zombie horde.
Suddenly, he felt he couldn't just abandon Qin Shilei's treasures.
He gritted his teeth, turned, and charged back into the laboratory.
He then climbed into the air conditioning exhaust duct, intending to find a place to hide for his next move.
The surrounding zombies, drawn by the scent of Qin Shilei's blood, grew even more frenzied.
Fearless of the Seven Star Sword in Qin Shilei's hand, they swarmed him relentlessly, driven by the sole desire for bloodshed.
In the narrow passage, Qin Shilei could only draw his sword again and again, swiftly cutting down everything in front of him.
He tried to break through towards the stairwell several times but was blocked.
Zombies surrounded him from all directions, frenzied and pain-immune.
Even zombies with severed hands clawed their way towards Qin Shilei.
Gradually, his clothes were torn into rags by the zombies, and he sustained several bruises.
The only fortunate thing was that the zombies' fingernails were not as sharp as the mutated zombie's, so they didn't cut his skin, avoiding the risk of infection.
As time passed, layers upon layers of zombie corpses piled up around him.
His breathing grew heavier, and his movements were no longer as swift as they had been initially.
The zombies seemed to be endless, continuously swarming him.
"Zhong Renhe, whether in heaven or on earth, I will kill you."
Qin Shilei vowed in his heart.
He had his back to Zhong Renhe at the time and hadn't realized the other person hadn't left.
Meanwhile, Zhong Renhe was still crawling through the air conditioning duct, occasionally stopping to listen to the commotion below before continuing his crawl.
Unknowingly, he had crawled to the lab above Zhang Xiaoli's.
A thought struck him, and he jumped down.
"Ah."
Zhang Xiaoli, startled by Zhong Renhe's sudden appearance, stumbled back a few steps, her foot landing on a white mouse.
Zhong Renhe quickly stepped forward to support her. "Xiaoli, it's me. I was worried about you all, so I made a detour and came back."
"I happened to meet Qin Shilei, who went to kill that zombie. He was worried about you and asked me to come find you here."
Zhang Xiaoli patted her chest. "I'm quite safe here. Why don't you go and help Qin Shilei?"
Zhong Renhe pondered for a moment, then shook his head. "I believe Qin Shilei can definitely kill the zombie. His only concern is you. I think it's best to follow his wishes and protect you for him."
At this, a blush crept onto Zhang Xiaoli's pretty face, but she no longer insisted on Zhong Renhe helping.
After all, the other party was just an ordinary friend; she couldn't force him to face a powerful mutated zombie.
Zhong Renhe crouched down and pulled the half-eaten zombie mouse from under the iron door through the small opening, throwing it away.
Suddenly, the sounds of fighting from afar became clearer.
"Will Qin Ge be surrounded by zombies? Why don't we open the door and take a look?"
Zhang Xiaoli lay on the floor, peering through the opening, but she couldn't get a clear view of Qin Shilei's situation from afar.
Zhong Renhe comforted her, "Let's stay here safely. Qin Shilei hasn't called for help, so he must be fine."
Half an hour later, the sounds of fighting in the distance gradually lessened and then stopped.
Then, a heavy set of footsteps approached from afar.
"Did Qin Ge kill all the zombies?" Zhang Xiaoli looked at Zhong Renhe.
Zhong Renhe put his finger to his lips in a shushing gesture.
His gaze kept darting towards the air conditioning vent he had jumped from.
"Damn it, I'll risk it!"
His greed ultimately prevented him from leaving immediately.
Zhong Renhe inwardly calculated the good items Qin Shilei possessed.
A ring with a huge capacity, he likely hadn't had time to absorb the nearly two hundred crystal cores he had taken from Liu Yuanliang, an incredibly sharp treasure sword, the crystal core from the mutated zombie's head, and the crystal cores of the large horde of zombies outside, plus any potential loot from killing the giant zombie.
The more he thought about it, the more determined Zhong Renhe became to kill for treasure.
Knock, knock, knock!
As the knocking sounded, Qin Shilei's weak voice came from outside the door, "Zhang Xiaoli, it's me."
Zhang Xiaoli's heart leaped with joy, and she quickly reached out to open the door.
Zhong Renhe flashed aside, hiding behind the inward-opening door.
As the iron door opened, Qin Shilei's body went limp, almost collapsing to the ground.
"Qin Ge, what's wrong?"
Zhang Xiaoli hurriedly stepped forward to support him.
Qin Shilei managed a weak smile. "I'm fine."
"Quick, go inside and rest."
Tearfully, Zhang Xiaoli helped Qin Shilei turn and walk into the laboratory.
Qin Shilei was too tired and weak, his upper body unconsciously leaning against Zhang Xiaoli.
The two soon entered the laboratory and came into Zhong Renhe's line of sight.
However, due to the angle, Qin Shilei did not notice Zhong Renhe hiding behind the door.
"Qin Ge, your back is injured?"
Zhang Xiaoli's left hand, resting on Qin Shilei's back, felt damp. She turned her head to look at his back.
As she turned, the sight that greeted her made her heart leap into her throat.
Zhong Renhe, holding his sword with both hands, slashed ferociously at Qin Shilei's neck.
Zhang Xiaoli instinctively pulled Qin Shilei to her right with her left hand. At the same time, she took a step to her side, turning her own back to shield Qin Shilei from this fatal blow.
Pulled sharply to the right, Qin Shilei opened his eyes and saw a cold glint coming at him.
His pupils instantly turned silver-white.
Phantom Silver Eyes!
Zhong Renhe's eyes fell into a daze.
However, his sword-wielding hands continued to swing forward due to inertia, though the force was somewhat diminished.
"Ah."
Zhang Xiaoli let out an involuntary cry of pain.
Qin Shilei gathered his remaining strength, stepped forward, and plunged his sword into Zhong Renhe's chest.
The Seven Star Sword pierced through his back.